Netflix to Pai: 'Open Connect Is Not a Fast Lane’

Netflix’s Open Connect private content delivery network does not create “fast lanes” to the Internet, the SVOD streaming leader said in letter to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai in response to his concerns about the program.

“Open Connect is not a fast lane,” Christopher Libertelli, Netflix’s VP of global public policy, wrote, noting that the system does not prioritize Netflix data or otherwise disadvantage other Internet content, as it uses “best efforts” connections to reach Open Connect caches.

“To the contrary, Open Connect helps ISPs reduce costs and better manage congestion, which results in a better Internet experience for all end users,” Libertelli said, noting that only ISPs can speed up or slow down traffic via their last mile networks. “Since the beginning of this proceeding, Netflix has consistently opposed the Commission permitting ‘fast lanes’ in consumer Internet connections.”